Pope Francis has established a reputation for taking firm action against clerical abusers

The Pope has accepted the resignation of a Mexican bishop alleged to have protected a priest accused of sexually molesting an 11-year-old boy.

Bishop Gonzalo Galvan Castillo, 64, of the Diocese of Autlan in Mexico, resigned under the canon law that says a bishop "who has become less able to fulfill his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office."

Archbishop Antonio Carlos Altieri, 63, of the Archdiocese of Passo Fundo, Brazil, who spent $600,000 refurbishing his office and house, resigned under the same law.

And Josef Wesolowski, the former prelate who was forcibly laicised and accused of sexually abusing minors in the Dominican Republic, is back in the Vatican under house arrest. He had been hospitalised the day before he was due to face a Vatican trial on charges of possessing child pornography.

Religion News Service reported that Bishop Castillo had for years been criticised for refusing to remove from the priesthood Father Horacio Lopez. In 2009 an adult man, Eric, claimed the priest sexually abused him when he was 11. The priest was transferred to another parish.

Pope Francis has established a reputation for taking firm action against clerical abusers, against clerics of all ranks who shield abusers, and against clerics who live lavish lifestyles against the teachings of the gospel.